Flexible painting device



July 29, 1952 G. B. CRIPPEN FLEXIBLE PAINTING DEVICE Filed May 1, 1948 GEORGE 5. CR/ PPEN Patented July 29, I952 A t v FLEXIBLE PAINTING DEVICE we George B crippen, Decatur, Ill. .flgAttutitnhiqW 1, 1948, Serial No. 24,512

2 Claims. (Cl. -4235) This invention relates to' painting devices and more particularly to'a special applicator for the painting of parts or places not accessible for the application of paint thereto by'use of ,the con.- ventional brush usually employed in painting.

The general object .ofthis invention is to produce a device which is practical and highly efficient yet simple in construction and comparativelyinexpensive to produce and is readily adjustable and adaptable for the painting of certain hard-to-get-at surfaces 'so as to satisfactorily carryout andpperform contact painting jobs, especially those where the inspection is rigid; for example, in cases where there are outof-the-way surfaces to be necessarily well painted and the same cannot be reached easily, if at all, by the'ord'inary paint" brush, such as water, heating and other pipes/the bottom edges of doors and similar inaccessible places.

Generally stated, the device of the present in- .ventionis of a deformable and reformable character'to make it readily'a'daptable for access to manydifferent places, and, in" fact. to prac-' tically'all places requiring the painting thereof and which are not conveniently reachable, if at all, by the regular paint brushes.

The invention has also to do with a novel provision and arrangement of a characteristic paintcarrier and applier element which makes the device especially adaptable for the purpose stated above.

Other and more specific features and the particular advantages of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear in the following description.

In the accompanying drawings illustrative of a practical but non-limiting exemplification of the invention,

Figure 1 is an elevation face view of the device straightened out the entire extent thereof;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the device as given a certain form for its use in painting a hard-to-get-at surface;

Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the end portion of the device to which the applicator pad or element is to be fastened for use;

Figure 5 is a cross-section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of adjacent portions of an upper and lower window sash, illustrating how the device of the present invention may be formed and applied in the painting of the top and outer face portions of the top frame member of the lower sash;

2 Figure '7 is a view'showing how the device 'of the present invention can be used in painting the bottom edge surface of a door without dismounting'the door; and

Figure 8 is 'a schematic view illustrating how the device may be formedand used for the paint,- ing of water and heating pipes and other hard-toreach furnishings and equipment. 7

Referring now'to the drawings in-detail, the numeral l0 designates an elongated body member of the device, made of pliable yet relatively stiff and normallyform-retentive material such as, ,for example, -26-g'age soft steel or equivalent characteristic metal which serves well for the purpose, that is to-say, a material that withstands a great deal, of bending and rebending, so asto form the device into many different shapes, at will, for the respective uses of the device. r

One end portionZll of the strip lfl forms a swab holder adapted toreceive and hold on one face thereof a pad or, element! [of suitable absorbent or paint-carrier material, preferably a swab of sheepswo'ol or the like; This pad is held in place by tongues or clip extensions 12 formed at the longitudinal edges of the body In. As shown, these tongues or clips I2 (see Figures 1, 2 and 3) are bent over and into retentive engagement with the adjacent marginal portions of the pad or element I I and in such manner as to have the major thickness of the pad such that the working surface of the pad is appreciably beyond the outer faces of said tongues or clips I2. In this way, the pad will apply and spread paint upon the surface to be painted and the tongues or clips do not come into contact with such surface.

Any suitable handle arrangement may be pr vided at the opposite end of the body strip It as shown at I8. As shown (see Figures 1, 2 and 5) this particularly end portion of the strip is flanged and rolled, as at H3, at its opposite longitudinal edges, thus constituting a convenient and practical grasping portion. Obviously, however, this handle end portion may be otherwise formed and provided. Intermediate the swab holding end 20 and the handle portion 98 is a shaft portion H3.

The sheepswool pad Il may be removed and replaced at will, although when cleaned with a suitable solvent and thinner or turpentine after each use it lasts indefinitely and can be reused many times.

The pad II is not dipped into a can or container of paint. It receives its supply of paint from a paint-filled brush. Hence, the exposed faces (inner and outer) of the strip 10 are without paint thereon.

The body strip l can be bent into many difierent shapes, one example of which is illustrated in Figure 2, by which form the device may be bent and arched, as at M, so as to reach over a pipe or the like or the edge of something.

As shown in Figure 6, the padded end portion of the body: strip l0 may be bent right-angularly, as at 15, so as topaint two right angular surfaces of a window sash 16, which is difiicult if at all possible to accomplish with an ordinary paint brush. v

The bottom edge surface of a door I 'Hsee illustration in Figure 7) can be readily painted by the device of the present invention in the form shown, while the door is still mounted on itshinges.

In Figure 8 three other examples of the use of the device of the present invention for painting pipes or the like ina restricted channel or chambered space are shown schematically.

Obviously, there are many other specific places for using the device of the present invention, but it is deemed unnecessary to illustrate the same in the drawings. So, too, the devicemay be modified and changed as to specific form thereof and also as to the material used in its construction, within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A complete onepiece swab holder, shaft and handle unit for treating normally inaccessible surfaces, said swab holder, shaft and handle unit being formed from a flat elongated strip of readily deformable metal having the characteristic of assuming and holding the'position in which it is bent, said strip having longitudinal spaced apart tongues adjacent each longitudinal edge at one end thereof to form means for attaching a swab, the handle portion being at the opposite end of the elongated strip and being formed with longitudinally extending reinforcing means serving 4 to stiffen said handle portion, said strip having a shaft portion intermediate the swab holding portion and the handle portion, the shaft and swab holding portions being of such dimensions as to be readily deformable to assume and retain a desired shape.

2. A complete one-piece swab holder, shaft and handle unit for treating normally inaccessible surfaces, said swab holden shaftandhandle unit being formed from-a fiat elongated strip of readily deformable metal having the characteristic of assuming and holding the position in which it is bent, said strip having longitudinal spaced apart tonguesadjacent each longitudinal edge at one end thereof to form means for attaching a swab, the handle portion being at the opposite end of the elongated strip and being formed with longitudinally extending reinforcing means serving to stiifen said handle portion, said strip having a shaft portion intermediate the swab holding portion and the handle portion, the shaft and swab holding portions being ofsuch dimensions as to be readily deformable to assume and retain a desired shape, inwhich said reinforcing means comprises rolled over edges of said strip.

' GEORGE B. CRIPPE-N.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th file of this patent: I r

UNITED STATES .PATENTYSV 2,545,641 Allen t 21. 4 Mar. 20, 1951 

